More Articles

The Dispatch E-Edition

All current subscribers have full access to Digital D, which includes the E-Edition and
unlimited premium content on Dispatch.com, BuckeyeXtra.com, BlueJacketsXtra.com and
DispatchPolitics.com.
Subscribe
today!

Even though community groups remain upset about a Hustler Hollywood store opening in
Clintonville, the store is expected to open soon because of a zoning quirk.

Larry Flynt, a former Bexley resident and publisher of
Hustler magazine, plans to open the Hustler Hollywood retail store soon on the site of a
former Tan Pro, at 2761 N. High St.

Columbus officials say residents have little choice but to watch and wait, because the shop has
carefully skirted zoning restrictions.

Had the shop been classified as an "adult store," it would have to be located in a manufacturing
district. By city definition, an "adult store" has "a majority of its shelf space or square footage
devoted to the display, rental, sale, or viewing of adult material for any form of
consideration."

From photos and descriptions of other Hustler Hollywood stores, the locations' merchandise mix
could avoid running afoul of city zoning rules.

Some stores in Columbus already "have some adult material, but also novelty T-shirts, shot
glasses, etc. So, if 51 percent of the store is devoted to 'non-adult' material, they can open,"
said Steve Dunbar, assistant city attorney. "If they go over that line, it's potentially a zoning
violation."

But such a violation can't be known just yet, said Chris Presutti, the chief zoning official for
Columbus. "We can't get to that point until they open."

When informed about the zoning quirk, Clintonville area resident Lynne Gilham wrote in an email,
"I, personally, do not want to hear that the Clintonville Area Commission cannot do anything about
it. That is weak.

"And it shows me that the commissioners want Larry Flynt here. They stopped one cash advance
store from operating, saying that wasn't the image the community wanted. And Hustler is the image
that Clintonville area residents and businesses want?"

Most of the complaints about the planned shop have been online.

On Walhalla Ravine's Google page, Don Hornsby, pastor of the Church of God, wondered "if I was
the only one who was concerned about this business opening in Clintonville. I understand that there
are those who will say 'avert your gaze' or 'don't patronize,' etc. On the other hand, I have to
express that this kind of business does bring an undesirable element to the area."

Jim Blazer, of the Clintonville Area Commission, warned area residents in a recent note:
"Unfortunately, there are no zoning variances required by Mr. Flynt to open such an enterprise in
our neighborhood at that particular location."

Exactly how soon the shop will open is difficult to say. Repeated calls and email inquiries to
Larry Flynt Publishing have not been returned. Workers who were installing light fixtures and
display cases yesterday also couldn't identify an opening date.

Flynt's company website, LFPcareers.com, indicates it is seeking five employees for the Columbus
retail location: store manager, assistant manager, inventory control manager, lead sales associate
and sales associate.

Larry Flynt Publishing owns 10 Hustler Hollywood stores, including one in Cincinnati and one in
Monroe, also in southwestern Ohio. The store in Monroe was Hustler Hollywood's most-successful
retail outlet in the country and prompted Flynt to open the Cincinnati store in March, according toThe Cincinnati Enquirer.

The shops - which have been described as "an upscale combination of sex shop and coffee bar" -
sell merchandise such as lingerie, swimwear, sex toys, glassware and other adult novelties.